Player correspondent Keith Brooking and I are marveling at the Arizona defense. They’re playing as complete a game as they could have hoped for.

After the first drive, they shut down the run, got the lead, made life miserable for Jake Delhomme, and held Steve Smith to one catch.

Brooking points out that Delhomme — who’s been a very good playoff performer in the past — is unraveling because this is not the type of game in which he is comfortable. Many of his throws are “hope” throws — trying to make something happen to spark his team.

At this point, it would need to be a lightning bolt spark. To me, the Cards have kicked the plug out of the wall.

Going down to interview Kurt Warner and company in a bit… We’ll see you on Gameday Final!

— Scott Hanson is reporting from Charlotte, N.C.

Share this:

Guidelines: Fan feedback should be within the
guidelines for the NFL community. These guidelines will be used to identify those comments that will be removed from display
on the site. Please keep your comments relevant to the topic, not abusive or combatant towards other fans, and don’t share
any personal details. Use the “Report” link to help keep the community at its best.

Comments may be no longer than 2000 characters and will post to the site shortly after submitting.

NFL Network BlogNFL Network is a melting pot of gridiron greats from the NFL's past, present and future that will satiate the voracious appetites of millions of football fans across the country.